If war comes between Iran and the United States, Iraq will almost certainly be a battleground. Since the State Department does not want its people caught in the crossfire, they might be leaving the country. In recent years, Iraq has tried to cultivate relationships with Iran and the United States, a policy which might soon backfire. As rocket and IED …
Stability in Afghanistan Reaches a New Statistical Height
Sunday, September 20, 2020, was a red letter day in Afghanistan. That date marked a record-breaking 232 days without a U.S. combat-related death in Afghanistan, the longest stretch since 2016. The last American combat death was in February 2018, shortly before all sides agreed to a cease-fire while peace talks continued. However, the lack of combat deaths does not mean …
What do Mali, Libya, and Mozambique Have in Common?
These seemingly diverse African nations are all dealing with Salafi-jihadi insurgencies, a new wrinkle in the ongoing Global War on Terror. Recent unrest in Mali has focused attention on the nation’s capital. Islamic militants, who now work in the shadows, often face little opposition. Some observers fear that these groups could expand into other parts of west Africa. If that …
Damaged Refinery Threatens Iraq’s Shaky Economy
The sprawling Baiji Refinery in central Iraq should be refining about 300,000 barrels of oil a day while employing hundreds of people in this war-torn country. But instead, it is almost completely idle. In 2015, an ISIS attack significantly damaged this facility. A subsequent military operation drove ISIS forces away, but caused even more damage. Of the plant’s three major …
Syrian Civil War Expands Again
A conflict which seemed to be winding down may have instead entered another and more dangerous phase, after Israeli warplanes reportedly struck Syrian army positions near Damascus. The attack targeted Syrian Defense Forces and some supporting Hezbollah fighters in the southern province of Daraa, which is near the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. The Syrian news agency SANA reported that “the Zionist …